site.btaPM Borissov in Brussels: "Brexit Delay Is Sufficiently Long"

April 11 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Emerging from an extraordinary European Council meeting here on Thursday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov commented to journalists that he was satisfied with the EU leaders' decision to delay Brexit until October 31, 2019. "The delay is sufficiently long and neither side wants the divorce to be through its fault," he added. Borissov noted that there is no large British party in the European People's Party, whereas Labour belong to the Party of European Socialists. "Britain has the right to withdraw its request to leave the EU at any time," the PM noted.

Upon his arrival in Brussels on Wednesday evening, Borissov said that Bulgaria supports a longer delay of Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

"Neither side wants a withdrawal without a deal," the PM said. He noted that it is not clear, say, whether the British MEPs who will be elected if the UK holds elections will be able to stay in the European Parliament if they wish to do so if the UK leaves the EU by June 30, as Prime Minister Theresa May wants. "Can they be forced at all to quit [the Parliament]?" Borissov asked.

"I favour an extension of the time limit, but we must have all these guarantees, otherwise chaos will ensue," the Bulgarian head of government noted. "The best thing would be to delay the withdrawal by as long as a year or a year and a half and to work during that time. It will be shock and awe on Friday unless the deadline is extended, and we will be to blame," Borissov said, referring to the delay until April 12 decided by the EU27 leaders on March 21.

"The Britons come every time with a new request for a delay, and anybody who says 'no more' would take the whole risk for what will happen," he specified.

Approached for comment about the current controversy over apartments acquired by top GERB officials at allegedly below-market prices, Borissov said he expects resignations from other parties, too. "They sit there and watch us making a spectacle of ourselves as key figures resign, one after another.
In the end, they have the cheek to come up and say that the resignations do not mean anything. Why don't you follow suit andtender resignations yourselves, and then we will discuss the other topics?" he added.

The PM said that when it landed in Brussels on Wednesday, the government Falcon 2000 punctured a tyre and sustained a landing gear damage. Nobody was harmed in the incident thanks to "our uniquely good pilots," he explained. LI, IG/LG


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